Culinary vessel



1,625,847 April 26 1927' w. w. DECKER'. JR

CULINARY VESSEL Filed Feb. a'. 1925 Patented Apr. 26, 1927.

WILLIAM W. DECKER, JR., GF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

C'LINARY vEssnL.

Application filed -February 2, 1925. Serial No; 6,17*?.

These improvements relate to ulinary devices ordinarily known as lettles` and pans intended t0 be set upon a stove or other heating unit. One object is to provide a coustri'iction whereby the substantii'illy plane character of the bottom wall will be preserved when the device :is in use, and another is to provide a construction for the cover element whereby the heat within the container is better preserveiil. Each of theze features and the cooperation of both of thifiin increases the efficiency of the device.

While it is desirable to maintain the bottom wall of such if'essels substantially plane, even where the' vessel is used on a gas or coal stove, the importance of this is greatlyr increased in connection with culinary devices adapted to be used with au electric heating unil; hzivin'g `a normally horizontal plate ot substantially the diameter of the cooking `i"essel to be used with it. These electric heating units are made in 'various sizes, and the various pots, liet-ties and pans to be used with them respectively are custoi'iiaiily 'provided with a common diameter suitable for use on the particular unit, the capacity of one such vessel over another beingl increased by increasing its height. In the electric heating unit it is contemplated that the heat for cooking shall be supplied directly 'to the bottom of the vessel, and practically no dependence is had upon such heat as may rise from the unit and play upon the sides of the vessel. It is therefore highly important that the bottom Wall of the vessel should rest fiat upon the top surface of the heating unit so that the heat may be conducted to such bottom wall through the closest contact possible. The present improvements have been made especially with a view to increasing the eliiciency of such culinary vessels as are designed to be used with such electric or other heating units depending for their efliciency upon conduction of the heat rather than upon radiation.

In the accompanyingdrawings Figure 1 is a top View of a culinary device of the character described with a portion of the cover' member broken away; and Fig. 2 is a medial vertical section through the device of Fig. 1, with the upper portion of the lid member shown in full.

In Fig. 2 the device is shown as resting upon what may be considered the horizontal and flathot plate of an electric heating unit designated 10. The vessel has continuous annular side walls 11, a bottom wall having a relatively large plane portion 12, and a cover member 13. The body of the vessel and of the lid may be considered as being formed of sheet metal, for instance alumimun.

The bottoni Wall is preferably substantially plane throughout all of its area except for such a relatively sin-all portion thereof as may be formed to yield in the upward direction under the strains of expansion to preserve thc substantially plane character of the major portion of the bottom wall when heated, and this yielding portion is preferably centrally arranged. In the forni illustrated l provide an annular upstanding corrugation la in the bottom wall near the cenI ter thereof, the corrugation having an outer margin at 15 merging into the plane wall l2, and havingr an inner margin at 16 shown ai; being also the outer margin of another upstanding or raised portion 17, this raised portion 1T being shown in the form of a small and shallow segment of a sphere, butl the invention is not limited to such shape.

It is particularly to be noted that `the downwardly extending annular ridge 16L between the corrugation lei and the other upstanding portion 17 is spaced from the plane 18 common to the lower surface of the bottom wall 12 and the top surface of the heating unit l0. In practice if this spacing be about equal to the thickness of the met-al forming the bottom wall 12 it will suffice. The object of having this ridge 16LL above the plane of the bottom and therefore above the lines of expansion pressures is to insure the upward yielding of a relief area in the bottom when expansion strains due to heat are communicated to the relief portion.

I am aware that heretofore corrugations have been suggested for the bottom wall of culinary vessels, and in one instance a separate member has been suggested having corrugations intended to prevent buckling of the bottom wall. See the patent to Mulford, et al, No. 1,461,366, of July 10, 1923, showing a bottom which is not plane at any portion thereof. A construction would not be effective for the present purpose wherein the depending ridges between the corrugations are on the plane of the bottom, for in such case the expansion of the bottom forces the depending ridges below the general plane of the bottom and provides a generally rounded lower surface on which the vessel may rock.

An important feature of the construction illustrated herein is in the fact that although a relatively small portion oi the bottom Wall is actually out of contact With the hot plate of the heat-ing unit, this small portion is in the `torni ot a pocket or pockets substantially close to the hot plate and substantially sealed about its edges by the surrounding fiat wall 12, and therefore all or substantially all ot' the heat. radiated into the pocket or pockets is taken upby the bottom wall portions thereat. It is further pointed out that the construction illustrated in this respect is one easy .'lor the housewife to maintain sanitary and clean.

A second feat-ure of improven'iei'it resides in the cover anch about the margin thereo'l". It will be noted from Figi'. Q that a downM wardly turned bead 2l) is toi-ined at the upper margin oil' the side wall 1l, and that the cover 13 is vlormed with au upstanding;l annular part 21 adapted to lit snugly \'\'il'hin the Vessel at its upper margin; that lhere is an annular portion E22 which flares outwardly and overlies the bead 2l) with a snug; lit, and that an annular bead E23 is il'ornied upon the rim oitf the cover in such manner that the bead 2) overlies the bead 2l). l ani aware that covers have hereto llore been made in which a flange portion as 2l extends upward beyond the side wall bead and is then turned ontw 'ai-dly, downwardly and in u'aidly to `torni a bead which rests upon the side wall bead. The. patent to lfaquette, No. 1260594, of ll'larch 26th7 1915, may be rei'erred to in this connection.

According to the present improvements a much ti glitter lit can be made between the rover and the vessel side Walls, thus saving heat within the container and cooperating;

to produce the desired results, a feature of much importance in connection with electrical heating units wherein it is peculiarly desirable from the standpoint of cost as Well as from other considerations to utilize as many as possible of the heat units developed.

In View of the teaching herein as to the f principles employed it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various depar tures may be made vfrom what is herein specifieally illustrated and described Without departing;I from the spirit ot the improvenients set forth, and all such changes and inodiiications are contemplated by me as l'all Within the scope ol' the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A culinary Vessel of the character dcscriliicd having a substantially large bottom wall plane on radial lilies extendingr inward to a substantially small portion about the centre, said central portion being circumferentially defined by a shallow stress-relieving formation upstanding' above the inner surface of the bottom and adapted to have its eircuniizrential margin yield radially inward under expansion stresses in the outer plane portion of the bottom.

2. 'lhe combination of claim 1 hereol` in which said stress-relieving formation comprises an npstanding annular corrugation with the inner margin thereof above the general plane et the lower surface of the bottom wall.

il. The combination ol' claiin l hereol in which said st1'esf-;-1elieving forn'lation coniprises an upstanding annular corrugation and a central convex portion defined inar- `ainaily by the inner margin of said corrugation, the inner margin of said corrugation and the outer margin of said central convex portion being above the general plane el the lower surface of the bottom wall.

lVILLIAlN/l lV. DECKER, Jn. 

